What is your assessment of current risk awareness among the researchers you work with (outside of survey responses), and their interest in such perspectives?
I would say that it’s not that people aren’t aware of risks, my broad reflection is more in terms of how one relates to it. In the EA/X-risk community it is clear that one should take these things extremely seriously and do everything one can to prevent them. I often feel that even though researchers in general are very aware of potential risks with their technologies, they seem to get swept up in the daily business of just doing their work, and not reflecting very actively over the potential risks with it.
I don’t know exactly why that is, it could be that they don’t consider it their personal responsibility, or perhaps they feel powerless and that aiming to push progress forward is either the best or the only option? But that is a question that would be interesting to dig deeper into!
Interesting!
What is your assessment of current risk awareness among the researchers you work with (outside of survey responses), and their interest in such perspectives?
Thanks for the question!
I would say that it’s not that people aren’t aware of risks, my broad reflection is more in terms of how one relates to it. In the EA/X-risk community it is clear that one should take these things extremely seriously and do everything one can to prevent them. I often feel that even though researchers in general are very aware of potential risks with their technologies, they seem to get swept up in the daily business of just doing their work, and not reflecting very actively over the potential risks with it.
I don’t know exactly why that is, it could be that they don’t consider it their personal responsibility, or perhaps they feel powerless and that aiming to push progress forward is either the best or the only option? But that is a question that would be interesting to dig deeper into!